Girl, 13, assaulted in Austin neighborhood near schools

The arrows indicate where a girl 13, was assaulted this morning and the the nearby schools and library.

The arrows indicate where a girl 13, was assaulted this morning and the the nearby schools and library. (Google Maps)

Carlos SadoviTribune reporter

Chicago police were searching for a man who sexually assaulted a 13-year-old girl in the Austin neighborhood near several schools this morning, police said.

At about 7:15 a.m. this morning, the girl was walking east bound on the 5500 block of West Race Avenue toward Parkside Avenue when a man approached her on foot, police said in a community alert.

The man asked the girl her name and told her he had been watching her. Then, the man grabbed the girl around the neck and told her he had a gun, police said.

The man took her to his vehicle which was parked on the 400 block of North Parkside Avenue, police said.

After they got to his car, described as a mid-to-large size four-door white older vehicle, he sexually assaulted her, police said.

After attacking her, the man drove the girl to her home and ordered her to get him money or he would burn her house down, police said. The girl went into her home and called police. The man fled before police arrived.

The man is described as black, between 23 and 27 years of age. He is between 6-feet-2 inches to 6-feet-3 inches tall, and between 180 and 200 pounds, police said.

There are three schools near where the attack occurred, the Frederic Douglass Middle and High Schools, 543 N. Waller Ave., and the Francis Scott Key Elementary school, 517 N. Parkside Ave. In addition, the Austin Library branch, 5616 W. Race Ave., is also nearby. The alert did not note if the girl was on her way to classes this morning.